"European Union regulators are examining the contracts Apple strikes with cellphone carriers that sell its iPhone for possible antitrust violations after several carriers complained that the deals throttled competition." Well paint me red and call me a girl scout.

On the one hand, Apple is being heavy handed here. I can see how over the years they've gotten carried away with their influence.

On the other hand, I really do not feel bad that carriers are being knocked down a notch. I do worry about the effects it has on the budgets for competing platforms -- which is definitely a valid issue.

This fits nicely with my assertion that there are certain structural market inefficiencies that hinder the adoption of emerging platforms. This hurts Windows Phone (much to the delight of many here, it makes it easy to blame Ballmer or Elop) and it hurts BlackBerry's chances as well.

I really think that were we in a market that was functioning normally we'd have a more diverse lineup of OSes. Windows Phone sells millions despite these conditions, after exhaustive amounts of money and greasing by MS/Nokia.

What worries me more is not someone like MS who can afford to stick it out a few years, but more vulnerable companies like Nokia who has the livelihood of thousands of employees at stake, similarly with BlackBerry.